Apple has partnered with a Native American tribe to develop Cherokee language software for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, in an effort to ensure the language is not forgotten.

Apple's work with the Cherokee tribe was highlighted in a profile published Wednesday by The Associated Press. The Cherokee people hope to spread the use of their language amongst tech-savvy children who use devices like the iPhone and iPad.

While software has already been developed for the iPhone and iPod touch, an iPad version of the application is also said to be in development. At the Cherokee Nation language immersion school in Tahlequah, Okla., teachers use the technology to text students in Cherokee after school to encourage use of the native tongue.

"Tribal officials first contacted Apple about getting Cherokee on the iPhone three years ago," the report said, adding: "After many discussions... the Cupertino, Calif.-based company surprised the tribe by coming through this fall."

Apple's legendary secrecy was even in place when it came to adding the Cherokee language to the iPhone. The tribe didn't learn that Apple had granted their request until right before iOS 4.1 was released in September.

Apple wouldn't comment on the matter, or say how much the development cost, but tribe officials claim that Cherokee is the only American Indian language supported by Apple devices.

The Cherokee language was developed in 1821 by a blacksmith named Sequoyah. The tribe is said to take particular pride in their alphabet, and obtained a printing press to publish the Cherokee Phoenix in 1828.

But today, only about 8,000 of the 290,000 Cherokee tribe members speak the language, and most of those who do are 50 or older. The tribe is concerned that their language could disappear.

As a proud part Cherokee, who cannot speak the language; I congratulate Apple for taking the time and effort to contribute to preservation of the Cherokee language. My Cherokee ancestors left their tribe in Eastern TN in 1832 when trouble started brewing and moved west on their own. Thus, they avoided the first Cherokee removal to Arkansas and the later Trail of Tears removal to Oklahoma. The forced removal is a sad chapter in our Country's history.

As a proud part Cherokee, who cannot speak the language; I congratulate Apple for taking the time and effort to contribute to preservation of the Cherokee language. My Cherokee ancestors left their tribe in Eastern TN in 1832 when trouble started brewing and moved west on their own. Thus, they avoided the first Cherokee removal to Arkansas and the later Trail of Tears removal to Oklahoma. The forced removal is a sad chapter in our Country's history.

It seems reasonable to my understanding that this would be a great opportunity for you to learn your ancestral language and pass it on for generations to come, with extended linguistic tools that could now be made possible, due to this joint collaboration.

Preservation of world languages is a real conundrum. On the one hand, multiple languages present a barrier to communication and understanding. On the other hand, each language has the potential to express nuances of the human experience that are unique. I can imagine that languages could be preserved in the electronic version of world seed banks. But without being used in real life they are merely museum artifacts. Perhaps the only solution is that everyone needs to be bilingual: a universal world language such as English, and the local tongue of your own cultural roots.

It's been a few years since they added support for the Hawaiian language (which was almost extincted back in the first half of the 20th century, but has rebounded since due to major educational efforts). I remember how excited I was about that, as a non-native non-speaker who lives in Hawaii, just because it meant I could finally type Hawaiian words with the correct accent marks!

Good to see them doing Cherokee too. Now for the Text Lens language pack, right?

And technically written Cherokee is not an alphabet but a syllabary, but most people don't know the difference.

Sequoyah did not create it "in 1821". He spent some 12 years developing it. If you think about it, even that is a pretty short time. He had to develop not merely the symbols, but the entire grammar, and it had to be good enough to make sense to others and be relatively easy to learn as well.

A remarkable achievement, at precisely the right time in order to help the tribe stay cohesive. One of those rare occasions where a single individual really does make a huge difference.

Sequoyah did not create it "in 1821". He spent some 12 years developing it. If you think about it, even that is a pretty short time. He had to develop not merely the symbols, but the entire grammar, and it had to be good enough to make sense to others and be relatively easy to learn as well.

A remarkable achievement, at precisely the right time in order to help the tribe stay cohesive. One of those rare occasions where a single individual really does make a huge difference.

Ah, so because you "can't" donate, the people who can should be forced to. Gotcha.

No, I can "donate" - but any donation I could make would be peanuts compared to a multi-million $ corporation's or billionaire's. Mark Zuckerberg's is an example. Comprendez? Not that difficult to comprehend.

A lot of "little nothings" can add up to a "whole lot of something"! Your donation should not be looked upon as too meager, or "peanuts" as you said, to do any good. Every little bit helps. That may sound cliche but it's true!

My family, then I, have been sending a small donation to our Volunteer Fire Rescue Squad. It's usually in the amount of $25.00 to $50.00. We have been donating for the past 40 years when we had a kitchen fire in our house when I was little and, no I didn't start it, but the volunteer fire rescue squad came in our time of need. In appreciation, and by no request of them, we have been donating a little something ever since.

We have always been of simple means (not billionaires either), and I would think the rescue squad wouldn't expect our donation to fully support their operations for the year, but our donation added to the countless of other hundreds or thousands of donations help to keep them in business and available in our time of need, Heaven forbid, should we have to call upon them again.

We also donate to the American Cancer Society ever since my mother passed from cancer 15 years ago. Again, $25.00 bucks or so. Nothing that will solely support their means to discover the cure for cancer, but a little something added to other's and their gift, allow the Cancer Society to continue their research.

There are a couple of other charities due to circumstances that have effected mine and my families life, but I would like to maintain some anonymity here.

Again, every little bit helps and the only donation to an organization or charity that is not helpful, is the one that is not made.

Ten years ago, we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. Today we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash.

Pretty-sure it's called Tsalagi, not cherokee, which is the settlers' bastardization of "tsalagi" (those same settlers later got jobs on Ellis Island changing surnames of immigrants when they couldn't pronounce them).

Look again at the syllabary... see anything in that for the 'ch' sound?

There is already a Klingon dictionary and translator, so I think a Cherokee language app is a good idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by frugality

Next up.....a Navajo Code Talker App.

I was thinking of both these things when I read the article! (except re Klingon coming before Cherokee I would've said "not only a good idea, but overdue."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin Huber

Preservation of world languages is a real conundrum. On the one hand, multiple languages present a barrier to communication and understanding. On the other hand, each language has the potential to express nuances of the human experience that are unique. I can imagine that languages could be preserved in the electronic version of world seed banks. But without being used in real life they are merely museum artifacts. Perhaps the only solution is that everyone needs to be bilingual: a universal world language such as English, and the local tongue of your own cultural roots.

Good point and worth discussing. I'll add that translation technology is going to make it easier for people to keep speaking their own tongues for one thing. That's not an unmixed blessing for it makes people dependent on tech to communicate at all. However, English (for multiple reasons I won't get into in a post) does seem poised to become (for the multi-lingual) nearly everyone's second language. (Which is cool for English speakers at least.)

Not all declining languages end up as relics. Basque (outlawed by the Spanish government for many years) has made a big comeback. Gaelic, tho' hardly as endangered as Cherokee, is also enjoying a large resurgence in Ireland.

And other tongues may yet make a resurgence. Certainly all are worth at least archiving if only in the interest of history and heritage.

That is just cool. This is one of the glimpses into how much Apple cares about how they affect the world around them and the impact they can make.

What a sycophantic answer.

Apple is all over the place when it comes to 'doing the right thing'. Why, for example, did they recently pull the Wikileaks app? Was that doing the right thing? Or was it doing exactly what a morally bankrupt government wishes it to do?

Thinking differently, it seems, doesn't apply when it comes to whistleblowing.

I think they will start helping out cities like Detroit when they stop looting stores after lost or or won ballgames. You know, act like civilized people.

I am glad they did this and may in fact know one of the people involved on the Cherokee side getting this done. I am going to shoot him an email right now. There is another language among the Cherokee that is only spoken by one or two people now. There are others trying to get as much learned and recorded as possible but once the last die, it is gone forever. Language preservation could be a basic historical preservation more valuable than any fossil. Very nice move of Apple.